Yesterday, I posted a photo collage on Instagram with pictures of my daughter as she went off to have her Kindergarten school pictures taken. I could not believe that she was doing something so grown up;

that she looked so mature;

that she is so beautiful.

I know that it is a thing that people say, but it is truly as if my love for her grows every day.

Today was no different, and we shared many special moments. We danced together. We belted out Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic”. We played “Little Red Riding Hood” and I pretended to be the wolf, swallowing her whole.

Tonight, at bedtime, she asked me for a song. The idea came to me effortlessly.

“This Will Be Our Year“,

and she beamed as the song played.

We cuddled and kissed.

She sang with me. She knows every word. It still astounds me how much of a person she has become. When I first fell in love with the song, she was just little Twinkle in my belly, as I painted the lyrics on a canvas to adorn her future nursery.

Snuggles with my daughter are the best snuggles in the world. She is just brimming with love. A walking heart. Radiance. Brilliance.

Breathtaking.

Bright.

When the song was over, our arms and bodies entangled, I asked her if she had any clue as to how much I love her.

“Can you read me the picture frame next to my bed?” was her reply.

She can read, and could certainly have done so by herself, but she wanted to hear the words from me.

For a long time,

there were only your footprints & laughter

in our dreams

& even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever.

I have said it so many times, and I will say it as many times as I can:

I will continue to love you more every day, my sweet girl (I will never fade away, darling.)

Your hugs are the huggiest,

your snuggles are the snuggliest

and our bond is incomparable.

As “our” song says, the warmth of your love’s like the warmth from the sun

and my angel, I don’t know if that is true;

our love is brighter than the sun. It is bigger than the sun. It will last longer than the sun burns in sky.

Forever and always,

Your Mama